USA to a T? Oh I "C" Trivia Quiz

Answer: Three

The three states are Connecticut, Colorado and California. At least they are well distributed, being in New England (east coast), west and Pacific coast.
Connecticut, the Constitution State, the fifth state, is the third smallest state though still manages to house over 3.5 million people.

Colorado, the 38th state and Centennial State, and the eighth largest, is fifteen times as big as Connecticut and has about half as many people again.

The Golden State, California, the 31st state and the third largest, is half as big again as Colorado and was the first state to surpass 30 million people, which occurred in 1991.

Answer: Missouri

The state capital of Missouri is Jefferson City.
The six state capitals that start with a letter "C" are: Concord, New Hampshire; Columbia, South Carolina; Charleston, West Virginia; Columbus, Ohio; Cheyenne, Wyoming; and Carson City, Nevada.

One unusual feature of the "C-capital" cities is that of the six, only Carson City and Concord are not the largest cities in their respective states. This percentage (67%) compares with a national average where only 18 states (36%) have their largest cities as capitals.

Answer: Cleveland

Ohio is unusual that it is has three large C-cities with metropolitan areas over two million people and no others over two million (Toledo, the fourth largest city on Ohio, has a metropolitan area of less than one million people). Columbus, the capital, situated on the confluence of the Scioto and Olentangy rivers, is the capital and largest city but is the third largest metropolitan area behind Cleveland and Cincinnati.

Cleveland, the largest metropolitan area, on Lake Erie, is the seat of the Cuyahoga County named after the river that meanders through the city.

Cincinnati, at the southern tip of Ohio, is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio Rivers.

Canton, in the north east, an hour's drive south east of Cleveland, is nowhere near as big as the the Top Three but is still in the top ten behind Toledo, Akron, Dayton and Parma. It is situated on the Middle and West Branches of Nimishillen Creek, which through a series of tributaries connects up with the Ohio river. It is much smaller than the other three with a population of less than 100 000.

Answer: Chile and Pinto Beans - New Mexico

The Zia are an indigenous tribe situated at Zia Pueblo, an Indian reservation in New Mexico. Their red sun symbol is sacred and sits in the centre of the New Mexico State flag which has a plain bright yellow background. (It is one of only four state flags not to contain blue [the others are Alabama, California, and Maryland]).

New Mexican cuisine, heavily influenced by Mexico to the south, features chilies and beans.
Collard greens are indeed the state vegetable of South Carolina as is the Creole Tomato of Louisiana.
Carrot and Cabbage may feature in the cuisine of the more temperate Minnesota but they are not the state vegetables of any state.

Answer: Columbus

The Ohio Burgee is the official flag of the Ohio. Ohio's swallowtail design is the only non-rectangular US state flag. The flag has a complex design, "three red and two white horizontal stripes that represent the roads and waterways of the state. ...shall be seventeen five-pointed stars, white in a blue triangular field that represents the state's hills and valleys ... stars shall be grouped around a red disc superimposed upon a white circular 'O'".

The 17 stars represent Ohio's position of admittance to the union. The other three states of Nevada, Wyoming and West Virginia all have four sided blue background flags featuring regional symbols.

Answer: Condors

Nicknames of major league American teams seem to feature birds heavily: There are the Eagles, Hawks, Seahawks, Cardinals (two teams - Arizona [NFL] and St Louis [MLB]), Falcons, Pelicans and Ducks to name a few. Animals are not far behind with the Coyotes (NHL - Arizona), Rams, Dolphins, Bucks, Jaguars and Colts (NFL- Indianapolis).
There are minor league sporting teams called Condors: Pittsburgh Condors, a former American Basketball Association team, and Bakersfield Condors (formerly the Oklahoma City Barons) are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League.

Answer: American Bison

The American bison is the national mammal of the United States and the largest land mammal in the US. It is also known as the American buffalo or buffalo. It is a herbivore and eats a diet of grass, herbs and occasionally berries, twigs and lichen.

The American marten or American pine marten (Martes americana) is a member of the weasel family. About two feet long, this carnivorous mammal resides in the forests of Alaska, Canada and Northern USA though they have been found as far south as New Mexico. They eat voles, mice and insects but have been known to eat fish in coastal areas.

The American badger is also a member of the weasel family. It eats gophers ground squirrels, moles, prairie dogs, rats, mice, and snakes including rattlesnakes.

The American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis), which grows up to 15 feet, is endemic to the southeastern United States. At the top of the food chain, Alligators eat fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals.

Other American animals include the American black bear (omnivore) and the American racer (more commonly called a buttermilk snake). There is also the North American beaver and the American bighorn sheep.

Answer: Cotton Candy

Cotton candy, (known as candy floss in the UK and fairy floss in Australia) is a spun sugar treat. It was co-invented in 1897 by William Morrison and John C. Wharton who were candymakers. It was reported by the New York times as 99.999% sugar with the "rest" being flavouring and colour. Of the four options this was the only one invented in the 19th century.

Lionel Sternberger is believed to have invented the "cheese hamburger" in the 1924 in Pasadena. Cheese burger as a word is a combination of "cheese" and "Hamburger" where a slice of cheese is is placed on the patty near the end of cooking to allow the cheese to melt.

In 1930, Pat Olivieri, a south Philadelphia hot dog inventor, invented the cheesesteak in the 1930s by grilling steak and putting it on a Italian roll. A cabbie smelt the concoction and asked for a "Steak Sandwich". The Cheesesteak was born.

In 1930 Ruth Wakefield, managed Toll House Restaurant in Whitman, Massachusetts, with her husband, Kenneth. She invented the Toll House Chocolate Crunch Cookie using a chopped Nestle semi-sweet chocolate bar. Nestle reportedly cut a deal placing the recipe for Toll House Cookies on its chocolate chip packaging in exchange for "one dollar and a lifetime of free chocolate".

Answer: Arizona, Missouri

The northern cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) is the State Bird in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia, and West Virginia. Interestingly, the Arizona Cardinals (NFL) and the St Louis Cardinals (MLB) are in states (AZ and MO respectively) that do not have a cardinal as the state bird (Cactus wren and eastern bluetail respectively). This can be partially explained by the Phoenix team originating in Illinois but the St Louis team has never been re-located.

Only the male is coloured a bright red, the female is a dull reddy-olive. The cardinal got its name from Roman Catholic Cardinals who wear distinctive red robes and caps. The "northern" aspect of the name refers to the distribution of the bird which is southern Canada, continental USA and Mexico which is the northernmost of the three species of cardinals.

Answer: Charleston WV to Charleston SC

The minimum number of states you pass through to travel from Columbia MO to Columbia Gorge OR is six (MO, NE, WY, UT, ID, OR) Using I-70, I-29, I-80 and I-84, you cover 1840 miles between the two centres.

Cape Cod and Cape Canaveral are both a short distance from the I-95 but are separated by 13 states and 1343 miles. I-95 runs along the east coast but you need one of Florida's most scenic highways, the A1A, to connect it to Cape Canaveral, and at the other end you need the spur I-195 out of Providence to get to Cape Cod.

There are six states separating Minneapolis, Minnesota and Corpus Christi, Texas for a journey of 1390 miles. From Minneapolis, head south on the I-35 to San Antonio TX travelling through MN, IA, KS, MO, OK and Texas. From San Antonio it, is a two hour drive down the I-37 to reach Corpus Christi.

Charleston West Virginia is only 470 miles from Charleston South Carolina. From the northern city you travel south through WV, VA, NC on the I-64/I-77 to Columbia SC and then take the I-26 to the coastal Charleston.